Norway man starting small with excavating business
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Gabe Ochs, owner of Superior Earthworks & Excavation, stands next to his excavator. The 22-year-old started his business in June. (Marguerite Lanthier/Daily News photo)
Superior Earthworks & Excavation of Norway at a job site this summer. (Courtesy photo)
Gabe Ochs, owner of Superior Earthworks & Excavation, stands next to his excavator. The 22-year-old started his business in June. (Marguerite Lanthier/Daily News photo)
Superior Earthworks & Excavation of Norway at a job site this summer. (Courtesy photo)
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NORWAY -- Gabe Ochs has turned his love of dirt into a side business called Superior Earthworks & Excavation.
The 22-year-old from Norway works full time as an electrician for B&B Electric but decided last spring to buy an excavator. He started his LLC at the end of June. He is fully licensed and insured and offers all types of excavating services.
"I just always love playing in the dirt. So I decided if I can make money doing it, I wanted to buy one and make money doing it," Ochs said. "I just want to do something I'm passionate about."
Like many new business owners, he is starting small. So far, he only has his excavator. He said the next big piece of equipment he would purchase would be a skid steer.
"I'm actually looking at getting a little dump truck right now, too. Just because that makes it more convenient for hauling my own materials," Ochs said.
He got interested in this type of work from his father, Tony, who was in the business for years.
"My dad worked for a lot of people around town when I was growing up, so that's kind of what got me into it. He was always doing it," he said.
Ochs had some experience working for other people on the side before, then decided he wanted to do it on his own.
"I do land clearing, stump removal, culverts -- pretty much anything that needs to be dug," he said.
He is not opposed to renting equipment to complete bigger jobs. "So I can do gravel driveways, all that kind of stuff -- grading, topsoil," he said.
"I'm pretty small. I'd like to get bigger, for sure. I'm open to taking on anything new," he said. "I'm not afraid to go and look at something and say, 'This isn't something I'm able to do right now,' but I'm pretty much interested in doing anything that I'm able to do.
"This is something that I really enjoy doing and I can make money doing it. I would love for it to get a lot bigger, but I'm starting from the bottom," he said.
Ochs can be contacted at 906-282-5021 or through his Facebook page.
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Marguerite Lanthier can be reached at 906-774-3500, ext. 85242, or mlanthier@ironmountaindailynews.com.